EP review: Morphine Social Club – Monolithic Gospel

Describing themselves as “monolithic rock and roll”, Morphine Social club are an unsigned four-piece from Thessaloníki in Greece, with Monolithic Gospel being their second E.P. While being only 4 tracks long it still packs an impressive punch, with each listen its stoner rock and psychedelic riffs drawing the listener further in each time.

With opening track Chaos Lover there is no messing around, and is the punkiest and heaviest track on the E.P, clocking in at just under 3 minutes. With a catchy chorus to boot, this is one of the standout tracks. The trippy and psychedelic second track Starship of Perception is in complete contrast, with the track gradually building around one main riff and bassline. Complete with ambient and weird guitar noises and vocal effects, this track really lives up to its drug-fuelled name.

Swansong is the strongest track on the EP. It melds the first tracks pace and aggression, with the seconds psychedelic tendencies creating a winning combination. This leaves the final instrumental track: Your Sun is so Toxic. This is the weakest track to be found here as it does not incorporate any of the interesting riffing or psychedelia from the earlier tracks, leaving a fairly anticlimactic ending to the EP. It’s not by any means terrible, but when compared to the rest, it’s not nearly as compelling.

Overall this is a solid EP, and I am confident that the band will build upon the strength of this and bring something a little more interesting and original next time.